Welcome to Down and Dirty with Idaho Bo and Vivacious Vic! I’m Idaho Bo, a horticulture junkie in love with plants since I was a kid, when my German-born mom schooled me in flower names and natural cures, all while I roamed wild in the 1960s SoCal fields, mountains and beaches. Forget Barbies, I was catching horned toads and frogs, picking flowers and growing plants in the backyard early on!

I earned a Horticulture degree in Cali, then hauled my know-how to Idaho, receiving a Master Gardener certification from Ada County Extension to learn how to tame this frosty dirt. I’ve worked in many plant nurseries, sculpted landscapes, and drowned neighbors in so much veggie loot, they started barricading their doors—cue my Food Safety Advisor gig, where I now can teach the masses to pickle, ferment, and pressure-can like champs.

With Vic, we’re slinging a century of plant-powered sass: organic gardening, sustainable living, and herbal alchemy —I’ve got a side hustle whipping up organic tinctures and beauty brews from herbs I grow or sustainably forage on my hikes in this wild Idaho landscape. Chickens? Check. Goats? Been there. Foraging mushrooms and berries? Oh, honey, Mother Nature’s my BFF. So buckle up, ‘cause we’re dishing up the dirt with a side smirk and a dash of love!

Meet Vivacious Vic, a gardening guru with a green thumb and a knack for making landscapes practical, sustainable and beautiful. Born in Idaho, Vicki started gardening at age 10 and has been digging in the dirt ever since. She’s a certified expert with a Master Gardener certification, a Bach Flower Remedy certificate, and a permaculture certificate—She approaches all of these interests and talents with passion and respect for the forces and patience of nature. At the age of 68 it has become very important to add wit and whimsy to her projects because in her experience the universe often has other plans for how things turn out and it is usually better than planned.

For 20 years, Vicki owned a garden landscape business, turning ordinary yards into extraordinary oases. Now, she’s thriving in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and consulting, and all aspects of food harvest and preservation, helping folks grow their own veggies and create backyard paradises so stunning, even the squirrels stop to stare.

With her infectious enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge, Vicki will have you smiling all the way to the compost pile.

Mystic Science of the Cards aka Deck of 52

The Ancient Science of the Cards is an esoteric system in existence from ancient Egypt, but believed and written, that they originated in Atlantis. Remember Atlantis? Me either, but the story goes, that on the continent of Atlantis, there was a huge mountain, and at its peak 4 rivers headwaters began, and carved 4 distinct regions that became self-governing, with rightful rulers of Kings and Queens. Each of these regions, and their rulers, had specific assignments of leadership, based on the direction of their kingdom to the sun. We can only speculate as to how these 4 regions, and their rulers, governed their kingdoms, but it is fun to imagine, based on the following explanation of the Deck of 52 cards.

The deck of 52 cards, that we call playing cards, were, and are, a calendar. The 4 suits represent the 4 elements on earth, the 4 seasons and the 4 directions. They also represent the four stages of life as a human. Hearts = childhood, spring, east and water. Clubs = summer, youth, south and air. Diamond = autumn, adulthood, west and earth. Spades = old age, winter, north and fire.

What do we know of, in our common calendar, that revolves around the number 52? 52 weeks in a year, and if we add 5 + 2 we get 7 days of the week, that further represent the seven visible planets back in Atlantis and ancient Egyptian times; the Sun, Moon, Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. If we add four aces (1’s) four 2’s, four 3’s up through 10, Jacks 11 Queens 12 and Kings 13, we come up with 364. And the Joker, the most powerful card in the deck, called the Remnant of Days, counts as 1-¼, and we have 365 days of the year, each represented by a number and a suit. So we have 365 days and 52 cards. Many cards represent several days of the year. Some only show up once, like the Joker and the King of spades. The Joker's birthday is December 31st, and it is the only card in the deck that cannot be read, as it is all powerful, and it can choose any energy suit and number it wants, at any given time. Sort of like a chameleon, or shape shifter, and almost all of them, that I have come across in my 20 years of doing readings, have no idea how powerful they really are. Some famous 12/31 birthdays include, Anthony Hopkins, Florence Nightingale, Ben Kingsley, John Denver, Val Kilmer, Donna Summer, Nicholas Sparks, and Donald Trump Jr.

We all have a specific birth card that represents our life path. I personally call this system, a Life Compass. It points you in the right direction for optimal outcomes, to any of life's questions and problems, goals, dreams and karma.

This system of divination has been preserved by an ancient order called the Magi, who have preserved the secrets of this science over the centuries. The benefit of this system is, that metaphysics becomes a matter of one’s own personal experience and observation, and this brings us simultaneously in touch with the deep inner workings of the universe within ourselves. The cards offer us a unique opportunity to experience the practical reality of metaphysics. The science of the cards also constitutes a path of self-mastery, and a means of personal transformation. Once we know our cards, and the possible ways for expressing them, we can
transform our life into its highest expression. To do this is to truly live a life of our own creation; to live our own destiny and to transcend fate.